The week before Christmas, we threw our daughter a third birthday party and it was my favorite birthday party yet!

I’ll share photos and talk about any DIY I did as it comes up in the photos! The biggest hit of the party had to be having Princess Ariel herself come! Avery was starstruck and just so happy and excited. It was the cutest. It was also a little extra special for us, because the actress portraying Princess Ariel happened to be a family member we hadn’t met before! It was such a special day and Avery still hasn’t stopped talking about how the mermaid came to her party and gave her a present.

Avery’s Grotto

+ we set up the grotto under two tarps and hung bubble garland, paper fish, and jellyfish from the top to make it look like the area was really under the sea!

• bubble garland (bought two!)
• paper fish (bought two!)
• jellyfish (they have paper ones but I couldn’t resist these ones! And I’m putting them in Avery’s big girl room soon! They light up!)
• balloon garland
• inflatable clam shell : I thought this would be so cute and fun for Avery to have at the head of the kids table!

Kids Table

+ my beloved centerpiece, the candelabra with the fork, spoon, and knife, I made myself! I bought this candelabra on Amazon, then spray painted it and the plastic cutlery and hot glued the spoon, fork, and knife in place! Linking all the decor for the kids table down below!

• seashell pillows (various colors!)
• fish netting with seashells attached (bought 3)
• loose seashells for throughout the table
• iridescent seashell paper plates
• charger plates for under the paper plates (bought purple and teal, looks like the purple is currently sold out)
• kinetic sand party favors : mermaid version for the girls, treasure chests for the boys! we placed these on top of each plate for the kiddos.
• mermaid scale party cups

+ the vases that ran down the middle of the kids table, flanking the candelabra, I actually painted myself using sparkling water glasses that I had saved up over the months leading up to the party! Then I found these glitter pieces to add to the vase, I thought they looked just like coral and I’m so happy with how it turned out! I painted a few extra vases that we used on the dessert table as well! For the glitter add ons, I chose rose gold for the color, although they have a lot of different options!

+ in the grotto we also set up this cute little treasure chest corner. Both chests (the large one and the mini one on top) I actually already had and use in our home. The large one we left empty, the mini one I filled with chocolate gold coins for kiddos to enjoy and decorated with faux pearl and gold beaded necklaces. My girlfriend brought the extra gadgets (clock, compasses, and globes), she already had them from a party she threw last year.

+ as party favors (to add to the kinetic sand I bought), I bought a bunch of fun bubble wands and made custom gift tags that I tied on to each one. I also set up a bubble machine on the treasure chest so that bubbles would constantly be flowing throughout the grotto (linking below).

Treasure Chest Corner

• faux pearl necklaces
• gold bead necklaces
• cardboard ship wheel
• gold chocolate coins (bought a bunch of bags at Party City, enough to fill the mini chest up completely)
• bubble wands (linked similar ones, I actually bought mine at Party City one by one because I only wanted blue, purple and green colored wands)
• seashells (bought a bag from Michael’s because I wanted to make sure I got bigger shells for this particular area)
• battery operated bubble machine
• extra bubble soap for machine

+ my girlfriend bought white picture frames from The Dollar Store and glued the shells on to them herself. I made the various graphics for inside the frames on my computer!

Activity Station

+ we set up two fun little activities for the little ones- one was a treasure hunt and the other was painting wooden seashells and mermaids! The table we set up next to the grotto.

• paint trays
• wooden mermaids
• wooden seashells
• washable paint
• paint brushes
• mermaid scale table cloth (I bought two sets, so 4 total and used the other 3 for the dessert and food tables!)

Dessert Table

+ I honestly cannot take credit for any of this other than making the little labels for each of the desserts. My BFF and Avery’s Godmother made everything herself and came up with all the ideas for the dessert table. I only asked for a sandcastle cake and dinglehopper cake pops, and she went all out and came up with everything else. I will link what I know she bought and can actually link below! She used mason jars and tied fish net around them to hold some of the treats and then also ordered fish bowls to hold fish gummies (will link below!)

• plastic fish bowls
• dessert forks (for cake pops)
• fish net
• mermaid scale table cloths

+ I bought light purple paper plates and napkins at Party City for the food and desserts!

It was truly the best day celebrating our baby girl! She had so much fun and it made my momma heart so happy to have been able to throw her such a memorable celebration! I also had too much fun planning as we led up to the big day lol. Definitely my favorite party to date!!!

I hope you get the chance to throw a little mermaid party and if you do, I hope this helps!!